


Blue Assistance

by late_night_secrets



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Amusement Parks, Artificial Intelligence, Bittersweet, Christmas Time, College, Fluff, Ice Skating, Jeongin is blue, Near Future, Non Idol AU, Reader-Insert, Skinship, angsty towards the end, classmates - Freeform, i don't know either okay? I just had a really vivid dream, it's a bit weird, no "y/n" though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27901273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/late_night_secrets/pseuds/late_night_secrets
Summary: “Why do you look like my classmate?”“Do I? Well. Maybe you can answer this for yourself. After all, I am programmed to turn into whatever the player currently needs the most.”“And that’s supposed to be Jeongin?”“Apparently.”
Relationships: Yang Jeongin | I.N/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	Blue Assistance

**Author's Note:**

> In which a college class goes to an amusement park.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> English isn't my first language, so please feel free to point out any mistakes regarding vocabulary, spelling, grammar or punctuation.
> 
> Other than that, I hope you enjoy ^^

“So, here we are.” After raising his voice a little, our professor got everyone’s attention. Since it was a workday, there were not many visitors, but that did not stop several speakers from blasting Christmas songs through the whole area. “All different kind of activities. If you’re hungry, food and drinks are right over there.” He gestured towards the huge snack bar placed almost in the center of this gigantic hall. “Well, hard to miss, I suppose,” he murmured, still most of us heard him. For his remark he earned a few chuckles.

“Bathrooms–” Apparently a bit lost, he looked around without finding the signs that lead to the bathrooms. “–are here as well. Somewhere. What am I doing? You’re grown-up.”

Damn right, we were. College was a weird time. Too old to count as children, too young to feel like responsible adults. Loans were high and people were broke, but still I kind of liked it. Because sometimes I already felt tired and exhausted and doubted, I would live longer than five more years, and then sometimes we did things like this. Choosing this project class had turned out to be a good idea. I had been hesitant at first since none of my friends had signed up, but the people were nice, and the professor wore an infectiously cheerful attitude. He saw himself more as a guiding fellow than a leading authority whose only supremacy lied in grading our work.

As an early Christmas gift and to celebrate all what we had done in the last few months, he had invited us to one of the biggest amusement parks of the country. Since it was winter season, only the indoor area was open which meant that most of the grand rides were out of the game. Still, it was a promising excursion. One might think that we were a bit too old for this kind of stuff, but truth was that most of us held that former child of ours dear in our hearts. On top of all, our professor. I bet he had just looked for an excuse to come here.

“You guys are clever enough to find them,” he continued, still talking about the bathrooms. More chuckling, one or two playfully doubting looks.

“We’ll meet again at five at the bus. Now, run off, youngsters, and enjoy the best years of youth.”

The small crowd of college students was about to dispense, when he added, “And for those of you who want to try the ice skating race, this young gentleman over there will explain you the rules.” He pointed towards a staff member just a few years older than the most of us. With a bright smile he waved us Hello.

Half of us, including me, started moving towards him, the rest made their way somewhere else.

“Where are they going?” I heard someone ask behind me. “What did he say?” Even without looking, I knew it was Jeongin. He was a Korean first-year who still had some difficulties with English. As far as I could tell he understood a lot already, but when things got hasty, he would sometimes have problems. Also, he had not got rid of his accent yet and I lowkey found it really cute.

I was about to turn around to answer him, but someone else was faster. “Those who want to do the ice race should go over there,” I heard them respond.

“Ah–?” In my head, I could clearly imagine the grateful but still slightly confused look on Jeongin’s face. There were times when he needed more than one attempt to comprehend.

The next moment I heard a third voice speaking. They used a language I did not understand. Korean, obviously. That had to be Chris. Like Jeongin, he was Korean, but Chris was born in Australia. He was a few years older and quite popular. Definitely understandable: He was kind and helpful and many people felt drawn to his bright, open-minded personality. A hard-working young man who never forgot to watch out for others. Sometimes, his Australian accent slipped through which just made him more likeable. And of course, he was rather handsome, too. Apparently, his only flaw was his height and even that was just below the average. Long story short, I was truly intimidated by him. Not that he had ever acted scary or creepy towards me – quite the opposite, during the few short encounters we had he was as nice as he appeared. It was just… He was kind of too perfect to be real. I enjoyed his presence, but at the same time I felt – drastically speaking – unworthy of doing so. Like a plebeian next to a prince.

The first time, I saw Jeongin he had reminded me of a lost puppy. He seemed shy and would stay quiet for most times. Well, being a foreigner in a country with a language you were not able to speak fluently had to be hard. Yet just the fact that Jeongin went through it meant he owned some kind of silent determination. This was much more my type of people to deal with. Once I had found him quite helpless. He had lost his way, so together we had figured out where his next lecture took place. Just a few minutes we had spent together chitchatting about unimportant subjects. But just before we had parted, he had given me a bright smile. _Dimples_ , I had thought. _How cute_. Even his eyes had seemed to be smiling. Looking like that he had thanked me, genuinely, and then left.

I would be lying if I said I had not developed a small crush on him since then. Several times we had met again briefly, and I had always felt a bit lighter afterwards. When I had realized that we would take the same project class, I had had to admit to myself that I had been really looking forward to it. That was until Chris who had also chosen this class had approached Jeongin. They both got along immediately. Jeongin had found someone who helped him to overcome his language barrier and even Chris seemed to get a lot from this relationship. Obviously, he had many friends, but he looked especially comfortable around Jeongin. Probably because he reminded him of his home. It was sweet to see such dear friends.

For me it also meant that Jeongin was out of reach. This was not world’s end, not at all. I had classes to focus on, had work to be done. And it was not like Jeongin was my first crush ever. I knew how it went: First I was interested, then I somehow develop deeper feelings based on short encounters and after a few weeks – months at its best – it would fade away. So, I dealt with it as following: Ignoring my hormones until they would get bored and leave me alone. Occasions like these, an amusement park instead of a normal college day, helped.

I heard Jeongin’s and Chris’ voices fading away. With a hopefully inconspicuous glance I looked behind me to see them both wandering off to the food court. A small part of me was relieved that they would not see my poor ice skating skills.

We gathered in front of the staff member who was about to explain the ice skating race. He was standing in front of the rink, one of the main attractions of the indoor area. Centered in the middle of this gigantic hall and lying a bit lower than the ground floor it drew everyone’s attention as soon as they entered. The food court was located right next to it. These days it was decorated with fake snow, pine and holly and lots of fairy lights fitting to the oncoming Christmas days.

“Alright, guys, listen up,” the staff member spoke. His cap and his vest showed the colorful logo of the amusement park. “In fifteen minutes, the next round of the _Racing Ice_ will start. Then… Well, the rink looks quite normal, almost boring, right?”

I glanced over his head to realize that it was true. Well, our grandparents probably would have found the rink quite exiting with its curves and steeps. As far as I knew, back in their days they had solely an oval-shaped area where they would skate in circles. Like prisoners during scheduled outdoors hours. These days, it looked like one of many ice rinks.

“But be assured”, the man continued. “As soon as the _Racing Ice_ starts, this rink will turn into the most exciting place you have ever seen.” Judging from his overexaggerating words, he usually dealt with younger clients. Still, I was thrilled. “The basic rule is that you need to be skating as constantly and fast as possible. When you borrow your ice skates, you will also get a watch-like device. You wear it on your wrist.” He lifted his arm and pulled his sleeve back, so we could all see the thin elastic bracelet with a smooth display. Truly, from this distance I would have easily mistaken it for a simple watch. “It’s connected to your skates and can detect your velocity. As soon as you reach a velocity of at least 5mph, the timer on our clever watches starts automatically. It will count for how long you can keep up your speed as well as your personal high score. Regarding both the time of skating with at least 5mph and what was your actual highest speed. But be warned. When you slow down below 5mph and remain there for longer than three seconds, your data will be reset. Your previous scores will be nullified.”

5mph? My excitement dulled. I had been ice skating before, but it was not like I was good. At my best, I would survive a whole session without falling once. I never had my speed measured. No idea if I would manage to make my timer even start counting.

Apparently, the staff member had noticed several insecure looks. “Don’t worry. 5mph is not that fast. Double the speed of you walking normally. That’s about it.”

That did not help at all. Near me, I heard someone whispering to themselves, “How the hell would I know how fast I walk?” I felt that.

“You’ll see. It won’t be hard,” the man reassured. “After thirty minutes, the race will be over. Then, the score of the top ten will be shown over there.” He pointed towards a large screen in the food court area. But he still had not finished yet, “Of course, that’s not all there is to it. There will be obstacles along your way. Splotches of yellow floor will randomly appear in front of you. You won’t be able to skate on them, they are not made out of ice. How you avoid them, is up to you. Other than that, there will be different kind of difficulties no one can foresee. Spikes coming out of the floor, for example. The spikes themself would be harmless, of course, but they would definitely slow you down. However, where’s a problem, there’s a solution. Or help, in this case. Again, no one can predict what it will look like, but when you seem to struggle, you’ll get assistance which can either help you actively or support you by trying to disturb others. If you’re worried that something will go wrong, it won’t. For all of that – be it the randomization, the obstacles or the help – we use PAI. Having the latest software installed, it can act faster than ever before. It will turn this simple ice rink into an unforgettable time. Now, I hope you enjoy the _Racing Ice_. It starts in ten minutes.”

PAI was promising. _Physical Artificial Intelligence_. It had been a breakthrough in science when the actual first completely successful PAI had been developed a few decades ago. I could not recall what exactly it had been, but I remembered my parents telling me about 3D-emojis – or 3D-M’s as they had been called – during the early times of PAI. The emojis could react according to one’s emotion and actually learn new ones. Now, 3D-M’s were outdated for ages. Of course, the old and jaundiced who despised anything new and creative claimed that robots would take over the world – a very long-living discussion – but barely anyone was paying attention to them. These days, it was usual to teach students about PAI in order to understand its development. How it worked was basic knowledge. PAI would learn constantly but not exactly remember doing so. Like humans knew how to walk or speak and that at some point in our life we had went through the process of learning, but we could not recall it. Nowadays, PAI was a common helping tool when it came to intellectual work. Like constructing an ice skating race.

Ten minutes later we were standing on the ice, skates on our feet, watches on our wrists. The air was chilly. The whole indoor park already smelled like a cool winter day, but here on the rink I could imagine we would actually freeze if we did not wear our coats. I noticed I was not the only one with wobbly legs. There was no railing which we could use as a support, however most people had at least one other person to hold on to if things got too slippery. In this class, I did not really have any friends – it was not like I was unpopular, I got along with most of my classmates, it was just that there was no one I was close with. Like Jeongin and Chris, for example. That meant if I slipped, I would either drag down the person next to me or just fall.

Suddenly, noise like a far too loud honk sounded. The signal that marked the beginning of the race. Around me my classmates started moving. Some tumbled within the first seconds. I was not better. According to my watch I had not even reached 5mph when I became a victim of gravity for the first time today. With a dull _Thud_ I landed on my bump. “Ouch,” I murmured to myself. Standing up without a railing was even harder. When I finally managed to do so, I needed to catch some breath. This was going to be a tough time.

Looking around, I realized I was not the only one with poor ice skating skills. Then again, most seemed to have at least one or two friends to drag down and laugh with them. Frankly, I felt a tiny sting in my chest.

Whatever. The fast ones had already completed half of the course. Though I did not expect to make it into top ten, I wanted to try my best. The second attempt went better. Soon I had achieved a steady pace, just slightly above 5mph. My timer counted. I was not fast and looking professional and cool was not even an option, but I was ice skating. So far, so good.

Completely concentrated I cut off any sensory input of my periphery. The other people around me, neither the ones that passed me nor the ones I passed – the latter barely happening in the first place – the cold air caressing my face, even my sense of time; it all went by. Nothing counted except for the ice right in front of me. It looked cold and hard and clean. Frequently, I saw traces of white dust which could be mistaken for snow. It had to be coming from my classmates that had left those remnants after marking the ice with their blades.

This worked until suddenly, the ground beneath me turned from white to yellow. Startled, I was not fast enough to proceed what was happening. The next thing I registered was me losing speed withing a second. My body could not react in time; I stumbled and fell. It was not as painful as back then on the ice, but still, it was an experience I did not need. The yellow surface had a strange consistence, somewhat rubbery, similar to gym floor. Definitely not the kind of flooring one could use for ice skating.

At least getting up was easier. A glance at my timer and I saw that it had reset itself. “Ah, well,” I sighed. Maybe I should pay more attention to my surroundings. Looking around I saw my classmates spread around the rink. It was quite a sight. Randomly, parts of the ice turned into yellow floor like the one I was currently standing on. It usually happened right in front of people. I realized, you needed really quick reflexes in order to avoid them, and suddenly I did not feel too unskilled anymore. But the floor was not the biggest problem. I did see the PAI. Mostly, they took the form of flying somethings that would chase after my classmates in order to hit them. On the other side of the rink I witnessed a dark blue wall popping up out of nowhere, so a group of three would bump right into it. After tumbling they all had a good laugh.

A girl passed me. She seemed really focused. Below her right eyes was a large dot. It was too big to be a mere beauty spot I just had not noticed before. I observed her for a short while. Out of nowhere she made a slight change of direction even though there was no curve. Only a moment later, yellow floor popped up. If she had not switched her track, she would have been skating right onto it. As if she had known that the floor would turn beforehand. If I recalled correctly, the dot seemed to be blueish.

Anyway, standing around was not the point. With tiny steps I made my way to the edge of the yellow floor awkwardly. Now that I had gotten a bit used to it, I reached 5mph faster. This time I also tried to watch out for any kind of obstacles. In fact, just a few minutes later I saw something moving rapidly across the ice out of the corner of my eye. Dark blue matter looking like liquid passed me with highspeed. In front of me it divided itself into several, small hemispheres. PAI. It forced me to skate in wavy lines around them. Since I felt more and more confident with each passing second, I managed not to fall. I was sure I could handle this.

And I did. As soon as I passed the last hemispheres they seemed to melt and flowed together to build that liquid-y matter once more. Then it vanished, off to so someone else. A part of me wondered where it came from. Maybe from the small piles of fake snow that laid outside of the tracks of the rink.

In front of me, I saw a boy who seemed to have more problems than me. His friend constantly tried to drag him along, but instead both were slowed down. Just as I was about to pass them, there was PAI flowing as blue liquid towards them. Maybe it was even the same one that tried to hold me up earlier. Without hesitation it crawled upwards along and then into the ice skates of the struggling boy. A second later he seemed to gain balance and got faster. His ice skating looked a lot steadier as well. Now, he was the one dragging his friend. “This is awesome!” he cheered out as they were moving away from me.

A curve lied ahead of me. I had taken some already, but this one looked like a sharp turn. I would manage without falling below 5mph, I just needed to concentrate. Shifting my balance, I stumbled a bit, but it was fine. However, something in my periphery was flying towards me. The first word that crossed my mind was _arrow_ , though it was blue and most likely would not hurt me as much as a real arrow. Still, I panicked and ducked instinctively, yet I was in the midst of taking a turn. I lost control over my body and knew I would tumble before doing so.

Was there blue matter on the ground next to me?

Not a second too late, someone grabbed me preventing me from falling. “Careful,” they said and pulled me back on my feet.

“Thank you,” I replied breathlessly. My heart still pounded twice as fast as usual. In return, it seemed to stop for a moment when I was turning around to look at my savior. Unconsciously, I flinched. I had not expected to see that much blue.

A tall figure stood in front of me – a young man, to be precise. A dark blue, young man. The same color as the wall, the hemispheres, the liquid that moved by itself.

So I had been seeing PAI when I had fallen.

Now, it looked like a person, but _everything_ – the clothes, the skin, the hair, the hand that was still holding me to help me to maintain my balance – was blue. Blue and a bit shiny. The PAI gave the impression it would feel like jelly. But its hand seemed solid. “Thank… you,” I muttered again. This was… strange.

For a moment it was just plainly looking at me, then it smiled a little. “You said that already.” After he made sure I could stand on my own, he let go of me.

I took a closer look at its face. It was familiar somehow. High cheekbones, a prominent jawline, monolid eyes that slightly squinted while smiling, faint hints of dimples… I flinched again when I realized a blue PAI-version of Jeongin stood in front of me, his pupil-less eyes watching me closely. The next words just slipped out of my mouth, “Why do you look like my classmate?”

“Do I?” he answered. His blue face did seem mildly surprised.

I simply nodded.

“Well.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you can answer this for yourself. After all, I am programmed to turn into whatever the player currently needs the most.”

Saying that, I suddenly could not look at him anymore. My god, this was embarrassing. “And that’s supposed to be Jeongin?” I muttered bitterly. So much for not thinking about my crush. Speaking of, where was he? I knew he did not participate in the race, but the rink was in the middle of an open area. It could be seen from many angles. Oh, please, of all people he was the last one I wanted to see this. I could not find him from where I stood, so vice versa he should not be able to see me either. Right?

Even though I had talked to myself, Blue Jeongin answered, “Apparently.”

I looked at him and he smiled again. Even his clothes looked similar to the ones Jeongin was wearing today. Though, he was not exactly like him. Aside from the color, he spoke differently. His voice was the same – _his voice was the same_ – but his accent had vanished. Also, his expressions seemed… less emotional. At least, I got that feeling. Maybe it was due to the one-colored appearance of his. Maybe because it was actually PAI.

“And now?” I asked since nothing was happening.

“Now, you should continue the race,” Blue Jeongin said very reasonably.

A bit startled I repeated, “The race. Right. What about you?”

“I’ll accompany you. That is my objective.”

I raised my eyebrows. “To be my company?”

He shifted a little. The movement made him seemingly impatient. “To be whatever the player currently needs the most. I said that, didn’t I?” Yeah, definitely impatient.

“A babysitter?” I guessed again.

Now, Blue Jeongin groaned frustratedly and I bet he would roll his eyes if he had pupils. “A partner, I suppose. Someone who can catch you if you fall.”

“Oh,” I made quietly, and I felt embarrassed again. And, to be honest, flattered. “Right. That makes sense.” I needed a moment to comprehend what he had just said. “For how long will you be with me? I mean, don’t you have to help other players, too?”

“I am where I have to be,” he answered solemnly. “Other will be helped as well. I will stay with you as long as you need me to. Now–“ He took my hand and smiled again, more brightly than before. “I’m afraid your timer has reset itself. Let’s make sure that it won’t happen again.”

He started skating, gently pulling me with him. His hand felt surprisingly normal – warm and strong and safe. A cozy feeling emerged within me. Now that I had overcome the strangeness of this situation, I was giggly – happy, really. Having someone to hold on to made picking up speed easier.

Still, I was not much faster than 5mph. Blue Jeongin next to me seemed to be much calmer, he used less movement than me, yet I knew he was slowing down for me. As if he had read my thoughts, he told me, “You’re doing alright, but you’re too tense. You’re wasting energy if you keep going like this.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what should I do?” His words annoyed me a little. As if I did not already know that I sucked.

If he noticed the anger in my voice, he ignored it. “You need to stay longer on one leg. You shift your balance too often.”

“Huh?” What the hell did that mean? I gave him a confused look.

Softly he sighed. “Let me show you.” He moved to the side, so he would have more space, yet he made sure to not let go of my hand. Now, our arms were outstretched almost horizontally. If we were on one of the narrower traces of the rink, we would have covered all of it. Luckily, there was much space left, so other people could still pass us without a problem. Though, they gave us one or two irritated glances.

Again, if Blue Jeongin noticed, he apparently did not care. “See. I shift my weight solely on one foot.” And he did. In order to demonstrate, he even lifted the other one. “I hold this as long as possible.” For several seconds he maintained his balance. I was amazed by how easy it seemed to be. After a while he only changed to the other foot because he had started to slowly drift away from me. “Now, the other side. Same thing. That’s it.” He came closer again.

He repeated this several times. Staying on one foot, slowly drifting away, staying on the other foot, slowly drifting closer again. Doing so our hands never lost contact, touching each other lazily by our fingertips. He got faster. Me who was still skating as hastily as before gradually fell behind. “Wait!” I exhaled. “I can’t keep up.”

He laughed as he saw me struggling, and that was something I did not expect. As well as his next action. With one swift movement he turned by 180° so we would face each other. “I won’t leave you behind,” he promised. Now skating backwards, he grabbed both my hands. “It’s your turn.”

“Show-off,” I murmured before I could stop myself. Then I realized the harshness of my words. Instantly I gave him an apologetic look. “No, sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

He cocked his head. “Why did you say it, then?” His blue face seemed blank, but I thought his voice sounded faintly hurt.

“It just slipped out of my mouth. I’m sorry!” I repeated and hoped that I appeared as genuine as I was.

“I’m just trying to help, you know?”

“Yes, of course I know.” Quickly, I tried to change the topic and laid my focus on my ice skates. “How was it going again? Shifting the balance on one foot. You think I manage to lift the other?”

A small chuckle made me look up again. Blue Jeongin was grinning, with dimples and all. “I was joking.”

Was he?

“I would even recommend lifting up the other foot,” he continued and left me blushing. “Makes it easier to fully get your weight where it should be.”

“Okay.” I tried my best to concentrate on my task at hand. “Like this?” Lifting one foot was not a good idea. My today’s archenemy, gravity, saw a chance and took it. My body was pulled sidewards. In order to maintain balance, I put my foot down again instinctively trying to trip instead of falling like I would when I was not on ice. But I _was_ on ice and pretending ice was normal floor and ice skates were normal shoes did not work _at all_.

Without Blue Jeongin I would have fallen flat on my nose. Grabbing my upper arms, he prevented the great pain. “Easy,” he said softly. Automatically, I had grabbed onto him as well.

Thanks to his stability I could pull up myself on my own feet again quite effortlessly. “Thank you. I’m clumsy, I know. I’m so–”

“My apologies for interrupting,” he cut me off, “but we have to keep going otherwise your timer will reset.” Without further ado he continued skating and pulled me with him. Still startled by the abrupt interference of my short training, I just let him.

Once he made sure I had recovered from the small shock and could focus again, he wanted to give it another shot. “Let’s try again.”

I was a bit hesitant. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t expect to win in the first place and being averagely fast enough to have my timer running is honestly a success for me.”

Blue Jeongin remained silent for a moment. Then he said, “If that’s what you want, then it’s fine.” I knew he was not finished and waited. “But don’t you want to improve?” His face turned towards me and his completely blue, pupil-less eyes looked somewhat serious. Urging, perhaps, even.

Suddenly, I got the feeling that _he_ wanted to continue trying.

“I do,” I admitted softly which made him smile happily. Expecting he would face me again just like before, I got surprised when he pulled me closer. My left hand that had been held by his right one until now was transferred into his left one whereas his right hand tenderly placed itself onto my right waist.

Apart from the sudden closeness and its effects on my pulse rate it crossed my mind that I had barely any space left to move. I was about to put my doubts into words when I realized its purpose. Having Blue Jeongin close to me, his hands holding me securely, was for him to notice any imbalance of my body weight and to act accordingly.

“Now, we do it together,” he announced, his voice close to my ear being quite cheerful. “Balance on the right foot. Lift the other one.”

I had doubts. “No need to worry,” he assured me. “I’ve got you.”

Looking down I hoped I seemed focused while really, I was just trying to hide my blush. However, I pulled myself together and did what he had said. “More,” he insisted. “Imagine standing on one foot on solid ground. That’s basically the same. Ignore your left leg completely for now. That’s why you fell last time.”

“You say it so easily. I’ve never done it like this before,” I whined and expected him to reply. But he remained silent. Instead he was leaning into me from the left. I felt my body shifting to the right. “What are you doing?!” I blurted out; due to the shock my voice went higher than I ever meant it to be. “I’m gonna fall!”

“No, you won’t,” he just answered calmly. That did not make me feel better. My left hand was squeezing his, my right arm helplessly waved through the air; a very ugly attempt to keep my balance.

Blue Jeongin leaned further into me and I knew I was about to fall. I knew it, I knew it, I–

Oh.

I was still upright. For the first time since I had lifted my leg I felt stable. It _was_ like simply standing on one leg except that I was moving with something just above 5mph.

That felt good.

Even Blue Jeongin apparently felt my body losing up. “See? It’s not so hard, is it?” Well, if you had someone supporting you with almost their whole weight, yes, skating on one foot was not so hard. But my sarcastic mood vanished when I heard him giggling. Me succeeding made him seemingly pleased.

“Now, change the foot,” he continued and put his left foot down while he lifted the right one. Since it made him drift a little and we were still quite close, I got more or less forced to do as he said.

We continued for a few minutes and I got better and better. This was quite the fun, actually! I felt Blue Jeongin’s grip gradually losing as my skating became steadier. “Really good!” he remarked satisfied. “You’ll see it gets easier with time. What’s left for you to do now is to not forget your surroundings.”

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed still completely focused on our feet rhythmically sliding above the ice. “I just got the hang of it, I’m not really confident yet.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” he said quietly.

That was a strange remark. Not sounding rather intelligent, I looked up to him and asked, “Huh?”

The next second, I stumbled hard. I could not make out much, I only noticed a familiar, bright yellow color. The ground beneath us had changed again.

Blue Jeongin did not even leave me a chance to fall. “Come on!” Laughing, he dragged me. Somehow the sudden change of composition of the ground did not seem to bother him at all. I realized that his blue ice skates had turned into boots. “Keep it up or your timer will reset.” Ignoring my protests, he just kept pulling me which left me no choice but to stumble after him like a drunk in the middle of the night. His grin did not disappear.

In my eyes he was too cheerful for someone whose – what did he call it earlier? – whose _partner_ seriously struggled to walk on two good working legs. Was he amused by my clumsiness?

I watched Blue Jeongin’s boots morphing into skates again as soon as they touched the ice. Somehow, I managed to make it across the yellow surface. He accelerated his – and therefore also my – pace effortlessly, and within a moment we were above 5mph again. Had it been three seconds? Glancing at my watch, I could answer: No, it had not been.

Impressive.

A rush of excitement as well as grim satisfaction filled my body after becoming aware of this small triumph. Yet, I felt embarrassingly breathless due to a few steps and Blue Jeongin next to me could not stop laughing. “You making fun of me?” Still catching my breath, I did not sound as provocative as I wished.

In the midst of chuckling, he stopped. For a second, he just blankly looked ahead, dead-silent, and I was confused. But then, he turned towards me. His eyes seemed to become a bit bigger. “I am, aren’t I?” Obviously amused, he started giggling again.

“At least, someone’s enjoying themself,” I sulked.

Blue Jeongin nudged me and did not stop grinning. “Don’t pretend you’re not having fun.”

And that I could not deny.

We continued skating, and Blue Jeongin kept giving me tips. I needed less and less of his support. His hands and arms holding me slowly became soft touches ghosting around me, telling me not to worry about falling. I would be caught.

Blue Jeongin was facing me again skating backwards so talking would be more comfortable, his hands holding mine lazily when someone passed us. It was the girl with the PAI-mole underneath her eye. Like most of my classmates that passed by she gave us a short glance and then put her focus back on the track. I peeked around Blue Jeongin to watch her ducking underneath a huge bar made out of PAI even before it had appeared. “What’s about her?” I asked. “She’s also got PAI that helps her, hasn’t she?”

“Indeed,” Blue Jeongin replied. As far as I could tell he had not even taken a quick look at her, yet he knew exactly who I was talking about. “The PAI shows her any obstacles a moment before they appear. But given her constant speed and skating it’ll probably leave her soon.”

To that I replied nothing. A dull ache grew in my chest. I easily shooed it away by starting a different topic, talking about everyday matters. While we were skating, classmates were moving around us; fluid PAI was flying through the air or slithering across the ice, sometimes even between our legs. Cool air was pricking on the bare skin of my face, but I felt warmer than ever.

Time passed and I was happy. I even could skate more and more prevising; sometimes Blue Jeongin still pulled me around obstacles, but sometimes I could do it on my own. PAI trying to set me back by blocking my way I could dodge by taking sharp turns or ducking without losing balance, and yellow floor I mostly avoided – occasionally a corner might make me stumble, but it was no big deal.

Speed was not that much of a problem as well. I got faster. Every so often, Blue Jeongin would fall behind me. When I realized he was not next to me, I would turn around and see him smiling. Yet, there was something else in his gaze. He looked pensive.

When he caught up to me, I opened my mouth. The questions that lied on my tongue had almost escaped my mouth, but I could restrain it by biting the inside of my cheeks.

_What’s on your mind?_

I believed I knew the answer. I believed we were thinking about the same thing. Blue Jeongin had kept on saying his objective was to help me. Now, I had come to a point where I would describe my skating as fine. Of course, there was a ton of space left for improvement, but comparing to my skills at the beginning of the race, I had definitely learned something today. So, technically – _technically_ – speaking, Blue Jeongin had fulfilled his purpose.

Then, why was he still here?

Not that I was complaining – not at all! Still, I wondered. Out of the corner of my eye I peered at him. He still seemed lost in thoughts. Earlier, he had smiled more.

Was it maybe – _just maybe_ – that he did not want to leave? That he did something he was not supposed to do? Was that possible?

No, I would not ask him. Who knew what he would answer? To distract him, or rather to distract myself, I grabbed his hand. “Come on, there’re roughly five minutes left.”

Surprised by my action he turned towards me first looking startled, but then he smiled. The light reflecting in his blue orbs made him look so lively. “You’re right.” He squeezed my hand fondly, and for the umpteenth time I had butterflies in my stomach.

The last minutes of the race were nice. We had skated a few more rounds on the rink holding hands not for me having help but for there mere being of doing it. Yet, there was that lingering tension built out of unspoken knowledge – the unstoppable marching of time. This race, and therefore our time together, would end eventually.

Sooner than I had expected, the signal that I had already heard half an hour ago sounded again. The race was over. I paid the scores on the large screen only a short look. Obviously, I had not made it into top ten. I had not believed I had a chance in the first place, so it did not really matter. I had a good time, a really good time.

Blue Jeongin came with me to the exit of the rink where my classmates either left to drink hot chocolate at the food court or decided to do some more ice skating; the rink was now free for everyone to have a pleasant time on the ice without the pressure of neither a timer nor any kind of obstacles but one’s ability.

For a short while, we just looked at each other and I desperately thought of a way to not make things awkward, yet I was not even sure if it was appropriate to say goodbye. Before I could form words, Blue Jeongin broke the silence. Without looking at me directly, he asked, “Is there any last thing I can do for you?”

Those words hurt more than I thought. I knew he had to leave. I knew he would go back and wait until the next race started, and he would disturb or help other players, then. I knew he would never be like this again. And I knew that he would not remember.

“I don’t want you to forget,” I confessed softly knowing that _forget_ was not the right term, yet it felt like it.

Now, his gaze met mine. A part of me expected him to correct me, but I was wrong. “I’m afraid that lies beyond my possibilities,” he responded quietly. My chest ached when I heard his voice. He did sound regretful and… and sad. “I… PAI doesn’t remember things like humans do.”

I nodded several times. “I know, I know…” Hesitating, I bit my lip. “It’s just… I don’t want to be the only one remembering.” It was selfish and unreasonable to say it out loud, however it was the truth.

Blue Jeongin’s lips moved as if he was about to respond, but he remained silent. His face spoke volumes though. I almost teared up when I realized how sorry he was. Oh, I could hit myself for being so whiny! “No, don’t mind what I said.” Waving my hands in a defensive manner I tried to make up for my words. “I’m so–“

“No!” Blue Jeongin interrupted me loudly. Shocked I hold my breath. The way he was looking at me… I had never seen such an angry expression on Jeongin’s face. “Don’t you dare apologize.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him. “Come with me!”

As if I had a choice.

“Wait… Wait! Where are we going?”

Blue Jeongin did not respond. He was stepping off the ice, his ice skates smoothly transforming into boots. Without slowing down, he paced towards the food court.

“Wait,” I tried to stop him again. No success. Since I still wore the ice skates, it was much harder for me to walk. Just like earlier on the ice I awkwardly stumbled behind him. Nevertheless, he was able to go beyond the border of the rink? I had somehow expected him to not to.

Some of the people we passed actually turned around again to throw another glance at the PAI-man pulling the girl that could not walk properly – What a strange couple! – and a sudden wave of embarrassment hit me. “Where are you going?” Again, no answer.

“Ah, there!” I heard him mumble just as I was about to complain about my hurting feet, so instead I looked up to see where he was heading. It was a big food stall looking like a cabin within the food court. Decorated with cheesy Christmas-y accessories it seemed like Santa Claus himself had puked at it. Yet, it did look cozy. Some of my classmates sat there as well as a whole bunch of other visitors.

And then, I saw Jeongin. The actual Jeongin. Next to him sat Chris. Talking and laughing they had their hands wrapped around mugs with hot beverages.

“No!” I demanded. “No, stop!” Even with my voice being more firm, Blue Jeongin did not come to a halt. Having ice skates on solid ground did not leave me much possibility to lean into the opposite direction. If I had not died of embarrassment, I would have wondered how Blue Jeongin had known that they were here.

With seemingly no effort, he pulled me forward until he stopped in front of the two Korean. Having a shadow casted over them, they looked up, and that was the exact moment I deceased. I wanted to hide or maybe even run away, but Blue Jeongin still hold me tightly at my wrist. “It’s you!” he claimed directly staring at Jeongin. He almost sounded accusingly.

They both looked at Blue Jeongin first, then they eyed me. “Oh, hello,” Chris greeted gleefully as he recognized me. Pointing his index finger at the one who held me prison, he asked, “Is this PAI?”

Totally overwhelmed I first did not notice that the question was directed towards me. Chris looked at me expectantly, so eventually I nodded shyly. “Woah, that’s impressive!” Deeply amazed, he laughed, thoroughly inspecting Blue Jeongin from his sitting position. When he kept on looking at him like that… Oh, this was meant to go wrong!

Carefully, I stole a glance at Jeongin and saw him peering at me. When our eyes met, he beamed at me, and I had to look away. That was beyond embarrassing.

“Listen to me!” Blue Jeongin demanded. He had risen his voice to catch our attention. These one-colored eyes of his stayed fixed on Jeongin’s face who looked deeply startled. “You know her, right?” With a short nod of his head he pointed at me, yet he did not let Jeongin out of his sight. He did not even blink.

“Yes?” Jeongin answered, an insecure smile appearing on his lips. It was obvious he had no idea what was going on. I did not blame him, though.

“Please, don’t,” I muttered. A half-hearted attempt to stop him, although I knew he would not listen to me.

“You need to go ice skating with her.”

“What?”

It was me who had asked. What was this? Why did he do this? I felt hugely ashamed, yet I had butterflies again.

“Ice skating?” Jeongin repeated. He was visibly overwhelmed with this strict manner coming out of nowhere. Nervous laughter left his lips. “I can’t ice skating.”

A small part of me, the one which was not busy to comprehend this situation, appreciated again just how charming his accent was.

“Trust me, neither can she,” Blue Jeongin replied firmly. “I really need you to understand its importance. Go ice skating with her. Or do something else. Just have a good time together. That’s all… That’s all I ask of you.”

Oh.

Deeply touched, I could only stare at his profile. So much looking like my classmate, just completely blue and less confused and… and somewhat desperate.

He did not want to leave even though he had to.

“Yo, wait a second,” Chris suddenly murmured after a while. He had not let Blue Jeongin out of sight. “Doesn’t he look like–?” His expression changed, and I decided I had found my personal hell.

He looked between Jeongin and his blue version, and his eyes were widening. Lastly, he laid them onto me. I was bracing myself for a mocking remark or – even worse – for Chris to reveal to Jeongin who the PAI resembled, but he just started laughing out loud. Not in an insulting way, Chris seemed genuinely amused. He almost fell from his stool because he could not stop himself.

Too perplexed to say something, I just stared at him. Jeongin was even more confused. He spoke something in Korean. Given his intonation it had to be something like _What is it?_ Blue Jeongin was the only who ignored Chris. His demanding gaze was still piercing into Jeongin.

After he had calmed down a little, Chris was able to speak again. Breathlessly though, his hand gestured towards me while he spoke to Jeongin, “You should go with her.” After that he continued in Korean.

Jeongin replied, and I did not understand. They talked for a short while; Jeongin was still confused apparently whereas Chris seemed to have the best time of his life. From time to time they would shortly glance at me.

Blue Jeongin had not loosened the grip around my wrist yet. He waited patiently for them to finish. I, on the other hand, was on edge. It drove me crazy that I could not understand what they said.

Finally, Jeongin looked at me properly and grinned brightly. “Okay, we go ice skating. But I’m really slow!” He dragged the vocals of the word _really_ to convey the message accurately.

My heart skipped a beat. “Cool,” I replied and smiled back in relief. There was no helping it. I _did_ have a crush on Jeongin. “Then, we– we need to get you skates first,” I stuttered. Oh god, that was embarrassing. _I_ was embarrassing. But Jeongin had agreed on spending some time together. That was… Yeah, that was wonderful.

A complete success.

While Jeongin drank up his beverage and collected his stuff to get ready, my eyes brushed over Chris who was still grinning and intensely observing me. He gave me a knowing look and winked. My cheeks got warm, yet I had to smile a little. Something in Chris’ expression promised me that he had not told Jeongin and that he would keep my secret. Typical Chris, being flawless as usual.

I had not noticed that Blue Jeongin had let go of my wrist. Only when Jeongin wanted us to go to borrow some ice skates for him, I realized I was free to do so. Absorbed by the current situation, I had completely forgotten that I already wore some. Like many times today I stumbled. Probably I would have fallen if it was not for Jeongin. He caught me just in time. “Careful,” he said laughing, his accent being as present as ever.

_Cute._

“Thank you,” I could only mumble after he put me back on my feet.

Though he did not let go of my hand. “I can help you,” he claimed. For a moment he was thinking hard apparently as a frown formed on his forehead. I knew that expression; he was looking for words. “Like this.” He gestured towards our joined hands by lifting them. “Like this, I can help you.” His smile returned, his dimples being clearly visible, his eyes squinting a little.

I could not prevent myself from beaming when I nodded.

_Really cute._

For a minute, the lookalike of Jeongin watched them both wandering off, his expression being plain. Then, without flinching, it melted down into a dark blue puddle and slithered back to the ice rink to wait for its next objective.

Like the PAI that it was.


End file.
